Reviews tagging 'Vomit'

We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry

8 reviews

faeriefangss's review

dark funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Stalking, Drug use, Animal death, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pregnancy and Vomit

elderwoodreads's review

dark funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is the most unique book I read this year, possibly ever. Bray's writing style was a little odd at first but once I was in I was in. Everything I have found listed as cons by other readers were pros to me. I loved the plural first person narration, the slow burn, and the overly verbose descriptions. Please give this one a try. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Stalking, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, Animal death, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Homophobia

Minor: Blood, Misogyny, Outing, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Medical content, Classism, Death of parent, and Racial slurs

scifi_rat's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Lesbophobia, Stalking, Vomit, Alcohol, and Blood

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol

Moderate: Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Body shaming, Misogyny, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Racism, Stalking, Homophobia, Sexism, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, War, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Excrement, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Death, Cancer, Infidelity, Rape, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Child death, and Suicide

annablume's review

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really enjoyed this but there are a couple of things i don't like: I wish the main characters got like... equal page time. With some of them I didn't get to spend enough time to really get to know them. I was a little disappointed by the ending

the time jump.. i wish i could have been there at the final game and I didn't really care for the all grown up versions of the team.

I did not enjoy the adult-minor-relationship and the commentary on that... left a sour taste in my mouth that i'm still sitting with, even more so when paired with that one little comment on sexual abuse ...
i really liked the story and the writing style so it still gets a (maybe spineless on my part idk) high rating

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, and Alcohol

Moderate: Racism, Sexual assault, and Homophobia

Minor: Rape, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Eating disorder, Stalking, and Infidelity

peachani's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Stalking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Vomit

lectora21's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Vomit

cheye13's review against another edition

emotional funny medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

"Eleven sticks bundled together can withstand anythinng. One stick out in the cold all on its own can't even withstand itself."

This was a fun and unique read, but I wanted more out of it. It's pitched as truly absurd, and I set my expectations too high. I wanted the story to push further – push the witchcraft, push teen angst & rage, even push field hockey further. Instead it precisely toes the line between fantasy – "magic is real" – and ambiguity – "is magic real?"; while both options could've worked, this story avoided the choice, building an ominous tone with no ultimate payoff. And while the end didn't pull the typical "married, suburbs, 1.5 kids," it still felt far too much like an epilogue to me.

On the other hand, the teen girls & their diverse personalities and experiences were stellar. The 80s east-coast suburb was nearly tangible, a great foundation for the story. I appreciated the nuanced contextualization of the 80s norms; serious topics like sexism, sexual assault, racism, etc. aren't simply swept away with "it was a different time," but addressed in-story, then further contextualized in relation to today. While it's not one of my favorite reads, I do think it's a good book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Stalking, and Vomit